The Money Saving Chicago Cubs

Can anyone say Milton Bradley? There is definitely something brewing on the North Side as the Cubs have pulled off two cost cutting trades in the past two days.

First, Jason Marquis to the Rockies

Then today, Mark DeRosa to the Indians

Why would the Cubs trade away two valuable pieces? The Cubs are looking to upgrade their main weakness (i.e left handed power hitter) by dumping guys who they can replace. The Cubs could afford to deal Mark DeRosa even after a career season because they already have Ryan Theriot, Ronny Cedeno, Mike Fontenot, and now Aaron Miles to cover both second base and shortstop. Also, the Cubs have five quality starters without Jason Marquis in addition to Sean Marshall and Rich Hill, both of whom could contribute at some point this season.

Simply put, the Cubs could move on without Marquis and DeRosa.

No fan likes to see their team essentially give away pretty good players, but this is only the start for the improving Cubs. Given the current market situation, the Cubs should be prime players for Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, or the aforementioned Bradley because of the money they have saved from these two deals (roughly $12 million). That will make their lineup more balanced and dangerous considering how many formidable right handed threats they already have (Ramirez, Lee, Soriano).

If the Cubs pick up a formidable left handed hitter, they will become even more dangerous in 2009 than they were in 2008.